


Shot

by Captain_McDanno91



Series: Finding Freedom [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Anxiety, Helpful Steve, Hurt Danny, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, PTSD, Panic Attack, Poor Danny, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:40:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22107988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_McDanno91/pseuds/Captain_McDanno91
Summary: Danny has an anxiety attack, and chaos ensues. Also, Steve meets with the governor.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Finding Freedom [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1578268
Comments: 12
Kudos: 97





	Shot

**Author's Note:**

> I'm overwhelmed at the comment son my last two postings. I am working on responding to all of them right now. Enjoy this new installment!

Danny woke the next morning to the sound of the door slamming and footsteps pounding on the staircase.

“Daddy?” He heard Grace call.

Moments later the sound stopped and his suddenly timid 10-year-old daughter knocked quietly on his bedroom door.

“Danno?”

He braced himself for what was to come and called back. “I’m in here, Grace.”

He watched the doorknob turn and the door open and then there she was. All 65lbs of his brown-haired, brown-eyed smiling center of his universe – aside from Steve – perfectly happy and healthy.

Steve was already downstairs swimming and this morning Danny was grateful for it because it allowed him to pull back the covers on his side of the bed for Grace to climb in.

She did so eagerly, snuggling up next to her Danno and laying her head on his chest. He draped an arm around her shoulders, dragging her in close.

“I missed you so much, Danno. Mommy said you might not come back but I knew it wasn’t true, I knew it!” Grace cried into his shirt.

Danny rubbed her back. “I couldn’t leave you, Monkey, you know that. What did I tell you, huh? Danno will always be there for you.”

Grace cried harder and Danny laid there, letting her get it all out, soaking his t-shirt with tears in the process.

“It’s okay, Grace.” He said. “I’m not leaving you. I’m staying right here, baby.” Grace sniffled.

Danny went on. “Besides, what would Uncle Steve do without me? He would probably blow up the whole island if I wasn’t here to babysit.” He was pleased when that got a watery chuckle out of her.

He sat up then, bringing her with him. “What do you say to you coming back here after school and filling me in on everything I missed?”

Grace nodded eagerly, wiping her face.

“Okay, now give me a kiss and get downstairs. Your mother is waiting to take you to school.”

She crawled over his legs and got off the bed to give him a kiss on his cheek before she threw her arms around his neck and hugged her like he was her lifeline. Danny hugged back just as tight before letting go and watching her leave the room.

“I love you, Danno.” She said when she got to the door.

“I love you too, Monkey.”

She shut the door behind her and he laid back down on the bed, thinking about his little girl.

He was still thinking when, half an hour later, Steve came into the bedroom with his hair wet and still in his swim trunks. He smiled at Danny and said good morning, and then made his way into the bathroom, leaving the door half-open behind him.

Danny heard the shower start up and burrowed under the covers. He knew he should get up and shower and start his day but it was almost like he didn’t know how, like his brain couldn’t process that far.

When the Montoya brothers had him, his days had been spent mostly in fear, waiting for one or both of them to come through the basement door and start up his abuse. He didn’t know the difference between day and night and he had no sleep or waking schedule. He slept when he could, or when he was too tired to keep his eyes open.

Sometimes the brothers would slip up and tell him they’d ‘be back tomorrow’ and then he would know he had at least a few hours alone. But other times, other times he would go what seemed like weeks not knowing when to expect his captors

Steve came out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips and dug through his dresser while Danny stared at him.

He watched the water droplets roll down the tan, muscular back, soaking into the towel hung low on his waist.

The towel was dropped and Steve bent over to step into his boxer briefs, granting Danny a clear view of Steve’s pert backside, just as toned and gorgeous as the rest of his body.

Danny’s eyes roamed over the man in front of him and the more they did, the more dread coiled in his gut. Nothing about Steve being naked in front of him stirred any kind of _anything_ up in him.

“Steve,” he called, slightly panicked but trying to hide it. Was Steve going to want something from him, want _sex_ from him any time soon?

“Yeah,” Steve answered from inside the shirt he was putting on now.

“Come h-here please.”

Steve walked over to where Danny was now sitting up in the bed and sat down next to him. “What’s up?”

“Kiss me,” Danny told him, somewhat shakily.

Steve smiled at him a bit awkwardly before leaning in and planting his lips on Danny’s. He slid one hand into Danny’s hair to hold him in place and pressed up against him, sliding his tongue along the seam of Danny’s lips, silently asking for entry.

Danny responded by parting his lips, sliding his tongue over Steve’s tasting him, relearning him. But he still couldn’t stop thinking, thinking about how this was doing nothing to him. Steve took control of the kiss, deepening it and nipping at Danny’s bottom lip. Danny waited for the fire that he always felt, the pleasure that spread from his belly throughout his body when Steve kissed him this way. 

He waited and waited, but nothing came.

Steve must have noticed something was off, or the need for oxygen became too great because he broke the kiss off.

“Danny?” he dropped his hand from Danny’s hair. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Danny tried to wave it off, even knowing as he did that Steve likely wouldn’t let it go so easily.

Steve laid a comforting hand on Danny’s thigh and felt some of the building tension in the man’s body seep out of him at the gesture. “Hey, you know I’m here for you no matter what, right, Danno?”

Danny nodded in earnest. If he knew anything at all, it was that Steve was always there for him, always had his back. Thankfully he sensed that whatever it was that was bothering Danny, Danny didn’t want to talk about right now, so he backed off.

With one last shy peck to Danny’s lips, he stood up. “Whatever you need, Danny. Remember that. Now, because I didn’t make it in yesterday, I gotta go in today. See if the governor has time for me to bring him up to date on the details of your case. Are you – are you going to be okay here by yourself?” He asked the last bit hesitantly.

Danny tensed up. The very last thing he wanted right now was for Steve to leave him home all alone. He still didn’t fully believe that Steve wanted him here and if he had time to think without Danny around, he would probably realize what a burden Danny was going to be now. On the other hand, Danny didn’t want to seem weak, so he put on a front for Steve.

“Sure. I’ll be fine.” He made a show of getting back into bed.

Steve watched him warily. “You gonna go back to sleep?”

Danny nodded. “I’m still tired. Besides, it’ll pass the time until you’re back.” Danny attempted a smile.

“I won't be very long. Just need to see the governor and fill out a bit of paperwork. I’ll be back before you know it.” Steve promised.

Nodding his head once more at Steve, Danny closed his eyes and burrowed almost completely under the duvet. A few seconds later he felt a soft kiss pressed to his forehead and then listened to Steve’s footsteps as he left the room and went downstairs.

In his heart, he knew that he was worried about nothing. He was back home, safe, no longer stuck in the basement he once thought he would die in. Steve would be back soon and things would be okay. But his brain told him otherwise.

\---------------- o ---------------- o --------------------

The next two hours were akin to torture. His brain wreaked havoc on him, convincing him that his captors would be back and would come through the bedroom door at any moment. He listened out for every creak and groan the house gave, jumping at the slightest bit of noise.

Danny panicked, alone and nearing an anxiety attack.

He would be damned if he let them take him again. He knew Steve had a gun safe in the closet so he went to it and entered the combination. With a soft ‘snick’ the door popped open and Danny retrieved a Sig P220. He checked it for ammo and then closed the safe.

That done, he got back in bed with the gun in hand. He felt a lot safer being armed because at least he knew he could defend himself now.

Danny leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes. He was so tired but he knew sleeping would bring nightmares. He breathed in deep, letting his breath out slowly. All he had to do was make it a little longer until Steve got home.

\---------------- o ---------------- o --------------------

Steve walked into the governor's office and took a seat in one of the plush chairs that sat in front of Governor Denning’s desk and waited for the man to acknowledge him.

Eventually, the governor looked up from whatever it was that had his attention so completely and folded his hands in front of him on the desk.

“How may I help you, Commander McGarrett?” he asked Steve.

“Governor Denning,” he responded. “I came to bring you up to speed on Danny Williams’ case, and ask for some time off.”

Denning raised an eyebrow. “How much time off are we talking, Commander? You’ve spent much of the last six months working a personal case, and while I respect that you were- are close to the victim of said case, that doesn’t exempt you from your regular duties.” He said in a very no-nonsense tone. The governor hadn’t exactly been seeing eye to eye with Steve on how to handle Danny’s case so Steve asking for time off now was the icing on the proverbial cake.

Steve crossed a leg over his knee, not the least bit intimidated. “A week, sir. Maybe two. Danny is already showing signs of PTSD and I want to make sure he doesn’t have any trouble settling back into his old routine, although I assure you he’d kill me for doing this.”

“You should respect your partner's wishes, Commander McGarrett.”

Steve just stared, waiting for Denning to approve the time or not. He knew he was being insolent but when it came to helping Danny recover, he would do anything. If that meant rustling some feathers or stepping on some toes, so be it.

“Very well,” Denning eventually nodded when no response came from Steve. “You can have two weeks, on ONE condition.” He raised his hand to halt Steve’s thanks. “You **will** be available to consult if the rest of your team gets assigned a high-priority case. If they need you, you’re there.”

“Yes sir, thank you.” Steve accepted gratefully. He knew his team would only call him if they absolutely needed him and when they did, he would be more than happy to help out his ohana. They already knew he was helping Danny recuperate so they likely wouldn’t call in the first place.

Governor Denning nodded and unfolded his hands to shuffle around a few papers on his desk before bringing a familiar report to the front. “Now if you please, bring me up to date on the Williams’ abduction case.”

Steve smiled grimly. He hated this, but hopefully this was the last debriefing he would need to have with Denning until the case went to court in a couple months’ time. “Of course, sir.”

Taking a deep breath, he started. “I was combing through the last few of Detective Williams’ case files from his time at Newark Police Department when the name Adrian Montoya popped up.”

For the next two hours, Steve talked, telling the governor everything from how he found out who had Danny and where he was being held to the foul-smelling room they had eventually retrieved him from. It was a good thing 5-0 had immunity and means because they had not followed protocol when apprehending the suspects in this case.

Thankfully, as long as the governor could justify it, he let it slide. Crime rates in the area continued to decrease, so 5-0 got a major free pass when it came to things of that nature.

\---------------- o ---------------- o --------------------

Danny woke from a doze with his heart racing, looking around to see what had startled him. A creak on the bottom stair had him on high alter and he snatched the gun from where it lay in his lap.

This was it, he thought. His captors were here to take him back. He listened as they made their way up the stairs. As soon as Danny saw the man round the doorframe, he fired. He wasn’t taking any chances letting them into the room so they could get the drop on him.

The body flew back out of sight and Danny heard whoever it was stumbling on the stair landing.

“Fuck!” someone swore. “Danny, what the hell?” the man called.

Hang on, he recognized that voice, and _not_ from six months of torture. Steve? He stayed silent, waiting for something. If it was Steve, he wouldn’t stay silent for long.

“Danny, it’s me, Steve. Put the gun down, okay baby?” Shit. Danny had shot Steve.

Danny put the safety on and put the gun down on the side table, getting off the bed slowly. Making his way to the doorway he tried to calm his racing heart. Half of him was still prepared to see one of the Montoya brothers outside the door.

He poked his head around the door cautiously and was met with the sight of Steve. A _bleeding_ Steve.

“Steve?” Danny said. His brain was confusing him.

Steve looked at him from where he sat on the floor by the bedroom door. “Yeah, Danny, it’s me. Are you okay?”

Was he-? That seemed to snap Danny out of it and his eyes widened at the sight of Steve holding his arm sitting on the floor.

“Am I? What?! Are _you_ okay? I shot you, Steven! I’m so sorry. Oh my God Steve, I didn’t know- I thought- I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” Danny babbled.

Steve struggled over to where Danny was standing and stood up. He prepared himself for the breakdown he knew Danny was about to have. “Danny, hey. Danno. It’s okay. He bullet just grazed me. I’m okay. Please, babe, calm down.”

Danny looked at him wide-eyed and freaked out. “Calm down?” he nearly shouted. “Look at you, you’re bleeding! I- I shot you! I could have- oh my god I could have killed you. What am I- Christ I have to- “

“Danny!” Steve roared, using his best Commander voice with the hope that it would snap Danny out of his panic attack. “Danno, calm down, okay? Yeah, you shot me. Yes, I’m bleeding. But the bullet only grazed me, see? You know these types of wounds bleed for all they’re worth. I just need a band-aid and I’ll be perfectly fine.”

Steve raised an eyebrow and caught Danny’s eye, holding it until Danny gave him a slight nod.

“Good, okay. Now that’s settled. Who the hell were you thinking was going to come in the door?” Shit, that was a stupid question, Steve thought. But after it was out he couldn’t take it back.

Danny averted his gaze, looking down at the floor instead of Steve. “I, uh. I just uh… Nothing. It’s nothing.” Danny scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and said nothing more.

“Hey, it’s _not_ nothing. You had a loaded gun, Danny. But I get it, okay? You don’t have to explain right now. Come on, let me get cleaned up and then maybe we can eat, sound good?”

\---------------- o ---------------- o --------------------

Having cleaned up his arm and gotten the both of them lunch, Steve coaxed Danny to lay with him in the hammock outside.

Lying there with Danny in his arms, Steve slowly started to truly relax after the earlier excitement. Possibly for the first time since Danny had been kidnapped. Tightening his arms around the smaller man, Steve pressed a kiss to his hair.

“How are you feeling?” he asked Danny.

Danny hummed into Steve’s chest. “Better,” he responded. “I don’t feel so on edge with you here. It’s- it’s better.”

Steve considered that. He could only imagine how anxious Danny felt being alone, which was exactly why he’d gone to see the governor about taking some time off. Something which he had yet to tell Danny about. He wasn’t sure how the man was going to react.

Biting the bullet, he decided to get it over with. “I saw the governor today.” He started.

“Mhmm,” Was Danny’s only response.

“I gave him all the details on your case, should be the last time I have to see him for that for a while. I also- I may have, uhm, requested a couple of weeks off. I wanna be here for you.” He admitted.

Danny groaned although it was half-hearted. “Steve,”

“Let me finish,” Steve cut in. “You were gone for six months. Six months where I didn’t know if you were alive or dead. Where I didn’t get to see your face, or hear your voice or your laugh. Six months I didn’t get to touch you, listen to you rant, or argue with me about pineapple pizza, or kiss you. And the hardest thing? The hardest thing was not knowing if I would ever see you again. So let me do this. Let me take the next couple of weeks to get used to having you back with me, okay? I’ll help you with anything you need, anything at all, Danno.”

Danny said nothing, That was the most he had heard Steve say in a long while. Finally, he gave in. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Steve sounded surprised.

“Okay. If this is what you need, okay.” Danny told him and Steve smiled.

“You’ll tell me if you need something, right Danny? You’ll tell me if you need help?” Steve asked, serious.

Danny shrugged a shoulder. “Sure. I’ll tell you.”

The two men lay like that, swaying in the light breeze that was present, lost in their own thoughts. Both Steve and Danny knew Danny’s recovery was going to require some hard work. Maybe a little therapy even. And while both men thought they were ready for what came next, neither of them were truly prepared.

**Author's Note:**

> So, there is the third chapter in the FInding Freedom series. It's quite a bit shorter than the first two, but I'm struggling with chapter four so I thought I would post this while I can. If you guys have any ideas for the story, what should happen next, what you would like to see, or anything else you feel like telling me, please feel free to drop a comment! Thanks for reading!


End file.
